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Grunge
is well acknowledged as the leaders of the grunge movement of the 1990's and as a prime example of the whole scene.]]Grunge (also known as the "Seattle Sound") is a genre of music that arose in the early-to-mid 1980's in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, particularly Seattle, Washington. Grunge is characterized by heavily distorted sludgy electric guitars, fuzz and feedback, bass-centric riffs, contrasting song dynamics, growled or screamed vocals and apathetic or angst-filled lyrics centered on themes of nihilism and drug abuse. The grunge aesthetic is stripped-down and dirty, and many grunge musicians were noted for their unkempt appearances and rejection of the theatrics that had become common with most rock and glam bands in the 1980s. Origins Grunge originated shortly after the beginning of Microsoft had brought in many blue collar families to the logging community. Seattle, and the surrounding towns were an area that musicians and bands would rarely tour because of it's distance away from other major U.S. cities. Meaning that the people living in the Pacific Northwest were left to their own devices and had already begun to establish their own unique sound of rock and roll. However, by the 1980's, with the clashed musical preference between the "rednecks" and the "yuppies", a new genre was formed combining elements of traditional 70's rock with traditional doommetal and the growing hardcore scene. The term 'grunge' itself originated in the late-1970's to mid-1980's to describe a form of post-punk in the Australian music scene, bands like The Scientists, Salamander Jim, and King Snake Roost were included under this genre. In the 1980's however, the "grunge" scene begin in the United States, it's first use being in a faux hate letter sent in to a local fanzine, the letter criticising grunge alumini Mark Arm's band Mr. Epp and the Calculations was written by Arm himself as self-promotion for his band. In the letter the lines "Pure Grunge! Pure Noise! Pure Shit!" were included. Many bands were listed as being important to the inspiration and development of grunge, such as Sonic Youth, Swans, Black Flag, Flipper, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Celtic Frost. Early Grunge In the early 1980's, bands like Green River, Malfunkshun, and the Melvins had appeared onto the 'grunge' scene. Green River was formed shortly after Mark Arm's departure from Mr. Epp and is notoriously known for starting the grunge movement. Malfunkshun however, was the work of vocalist Andrew Wood. Malfunkshun was known for being notoriously different from other bands as Wood (as L'Andrew the Love Child) wandered through the crowd, dressed in drag, would stop shows to eat cereal and each member of the band had their own alter-ego stage persona. Then, around the mid-eighties, bands like Soundgarden and Skin Yard formed, culminating in the release of the infamous "Deep Six" record, which consisted notably of the Melvins, Green River, Soundgarden, U-Men, Skin Yard and Malfunkshun. Then, in 1988, Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt formed Sub Pop Records LLC and began to sign local bands that were blending the sound of Bay Area thrash and DC hardcore with the slower, down-tuned and doom-esque vibes of Black Sabbath and the B-side of Black Flag's "My War". At the end of the eighties, the idea of "grunge" began to transition, as older bands broke up and went in different directions (Green River splitting to create the fuzz-garage punk band Mudhoney and Malfunkshun splitting to create the anthematic ballad rock band Mother Love Bone ), new blood formed in the shape of the heavy-hitting TAD and Aberdeen's very own Nirvana. It was also at this time that Soundgarden had signed a major record deal as an alternative metal band and local metal act Alice In Chains followed soon thereafter, the Melvins put out their debut album Gluey Porch Treatments, which would completely revolutionize the direction the scene was heading. Mainstream Success & Alternative Rock In 1989,'' Nirvana'' had released their debut album'' "Bleach", following heavily in the tracks of their peers (''the Melvins), they accompanied their fellow act'' TAD on a tour across Europe in promotion of their debut album ''"God's Balls" that had released the same year, it wasn't long after the two bands had returned that TAD began work on recording new music, and Nirvana ''was approached by various major record labels, eventually signing to Geffen Records at the recommendation of Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth. Towards the end of 1990, ''Nirvana ''would part ways with their drummer Chad Channing and, not long after, they would be introduced to Dave Grohl (formerly of the hardcore band ''Scream) and begin work on what would soon become the "Nevermind" ''album. Derivitive Forms Following the decline of grunge in the mid-1990s, various new genres influenced by the elements of grunge musicians arose. Alternative Rock While not exactly a derivitave genre of grunge, the lighter and more accessible genre had a heavily symbiotic relationship with grunge in the early 90's, borrowing the lighter aspects of grunge's melodic overtones and back-to-basic structures. As a result, many major grunge bands such as ''Alice In Chains, Nirvana, and Soundgarden explored the genre on their albums Jar of Flies, Nevermind ''and Superunknown respectively, while other alternative rock acts such as ''Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Blind Melon, The Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Cranberries were occassionally grouped together with the more commercially viable grunge acts. Nu Metal While nu metal borrows from many other genres first and foremost (namely; groove metal), grunge proved to be a very influential genre for many bands under the nu metal banner, and shares similarities in their downtuned guitars, aggressive vocals and angst-filled lyrics. Into the millenium, many nu-influenced rock/metal bands such as Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Papa Roach, Godsmack, Flyleaf, Cold, Three Days Grace, Alter-Bridge, Crossfade, and Skillet tended to overlap with the similarily commercial post-grunge subgenre. Post-Grunge Perhaps the most well-known and commercially successful derivitive of grunge; post-grunge is much more heavily connected to alternative rock than to it's namesake, forged in the mid-1990s by major label bands such as Bush, Silverchair, Candlebox, Matchbox Twenty, Alanis Morrissette, Days of the New, Collective Soul, Seven Mary Three ''and ''Foo Fighters (fronted by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl), post-grunge strips its predecessor of most of its grit in favor of accessibility, despite it's commercial viability and success that lasted from the mid-1990s to the late-2000s with the success of bands such as Nickleback, Seether, Creed, Puddle of Mudd, Staind, 3 Doors Down, Our Lady Peace, Daughtry, Live, Theory of a Deadman, Shinedown and The Pretty Reckless; ''the genre has been heavily panned by critics and audiences alike, for it's lack of authenticity. Riot Grrrl Although, not directly a grunge subgenre, the rise of grunge, and female-fronted grunge acts such as ''Hole ''and L7'' had a major impact on the riot grrrl scene into the early-nineties, likewise with bands such as TAD, Alice In Chains and'' Nirvana'' citing riot grrrl bands as influences -- with both genres having been centered in the pacific-northwest scene, many bands such as 7 Year Bitch, Adickdid, Babes In Toyland, Jack Off Jill, Sleater-Kinney ''and ''Team Dresch ''borrowed elements from grunge including its focus on bass, darkened-tone, feedback walls, dull-to-screamed lyrics and distorted, downtuned guitars. Sludge Metal Arguably the most direct successor to grunge's heavier end, sludge metal formed in the swampy bayou of New Orleans, Louisana at the tail end of the eighties, and came into form in the mid-1990s, inspired by many of the same artists and albums by ''Black Sabbath, Black Flag, Flipper, Swans, Sonic Youth, ''as well as grunge classics such as Nirvana's "Bleach", TAD's "Inhaler" and Alice In Chains' "Dirt", the genre is largely considered to have made it's origin with the release of the ''Melvins debut album "Gluey Porch Treatments" ''and continued onward in it's own southern turf with bands such as ''Eyehategod, Crowbar, Acid Bath, Buzzo•''ven,'' and the Phil Anselmo-fronted supergroup Down. Much like grunge, sludge is also characterized by heavily distorted sludgy electric guitars, fuzz and feedback, bass-centric riffs, contrasting song dynamics (in this case, slow blues-y doom riffs contrasted with hardcore punk-esque blasts), growled or screamed vocals and apathetic, angst-filled lyrics centered around themes of nihilism and drug abuse. However, there are some sludge bands that exchange the grunge-influence for that of death metal (Goatwhore), stoner rock (High on Fire), post-rock (Neurosis), progressive metal (Mastodon) and/or crust punk (Dystopia). Notable Bands *Alice In Chains *Blood Circus *Green River *Gruntruck *Hole (on "Pretty On The Inside") *Jerry Cantrell (on "Degradation Trip") *King's X (on "Dogman") *L7 *Malfunkshun *Melvins *Mötley Crüe (on "Mötley Crüe") *Nirvana'' (on "Bleach")'' *Skin Yard *Soundgarden *TAD *U-Men Category:Genres